Community, Voluntary Sector and Youth Studies

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Working with children and young people is one of the most rewarding opportunities there is, provided you have the experience and knowledge to deliver what they need. Studying youth studies in the right learning environment can help equip you for the real world and spending time with young people and adults who may need additional support and care in their everyday lives.

The voluntary and community sector is built to help people and there are many career paths in this field. While many people may not even be sure where to take their experiences, the sector attracts a lot of people who have talents in social sciences and the arts, but it welcomes people from many backgrounds who seek to study and gain professional qualifications making them suitable to work effectively in the voluntary sector, whether that’s doing youth work, in social care or in many other rewarding roles.

What is the Voluntary and Community Sector?

The voluntary and community sector is made up of third-party organisations, usually with no or little link to the government, who operate on a non-profit basis.

All organisations provide some level of help or care to their community or to a particular group in need. Choosing to get a higher education can equip you for a decision-making role in the voluntary sector, set you up for a position as a youth worker and give you the tools and study skills necessary to support children and young people. It is not for everyone but there are many pathways within the sector which make it an exciting prospect for many students.

Why Study Community, Voluntary Sector and Youth Studies?

There are many reasons a student may be drawn to this area of study including:

1. You’re a People Person

If you’ve always enjoyed working with people, then jobs in this sector put you on the frontline. If you thrive off helping others and helping them deal with contemporary issues and concerns they may be facing, then exploring the youth studies courses out there is a great idea.

2. You Like Change and Variation

No two days are the same once you begin a career in youth work, social care or similar settings. The range of activities in your everyday work will be massively varied and there are always opportunities for growth and development in the voluntary and community sector.

3. For Transferable Skills

The life and study skills you develop both on your youth studies course and when you begin work are invaluable. Key skills such as time management, supervision, problem solving, presenting and fundraising are all developed both as you study, on work placement and when you find a role after you graduate.

4. You Can Incorporate your Passion

If you have a particular talent, hobby or passion, youth or social work gives you the opportunity to use this in your job. You can enthuse children and young people with your artistic skills or find a way of engaging the community in sports and fitness activities. In all instances the focus is providing an improvement to the lives of those you are working with, and there is no reason your hobby or passion can’t be part of this.

Studying Community, Voluntary Sector and Youth Studies really does offer a world of opportunities for everybody including international students. You’re entering a highly rewarding sector where you learn the ability to actively change lives for the better.

Check our useful sources for Community, Voluntary Sector and Youth Studies Subject

• • Using the internet
    Teach yourself to use the internet

    http://www.vtstutorials.co.uk/

    The above will be of use if you want to improve or refresh your internet searching skills.
• • Discussion groups
    JISCmail

    http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/

    national academic mailing list service facilitating discussion, collaboration and communication within the UK academic community and beyond.
• • Select list of Citizenship resources:
    Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT)

    http://www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/

    Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Education

    http://www.spd.dcu.ie/hosted/chrce/Resources.htm

    hosted on St Patricks’ College, Drumcondra

    Citizenship Foundation

    http://www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk/

    The Citizenship Foundation is an independent education and participation charity in the UK.

    Citizenship Links

    http://www.centres.ex.ac.uk/historyresource/usefullinks/teachreslinkscit.htm

    produced and hosted by University of Exeter

    Citizenship Teaching Online

    http://www.citizenshipteacher.co.uk/index.asp?home=1

    Civitas

    http://www.civitas.org.uk/

    Civitas International for; civic education practitioners, teachers, teacher trainers, and curriculum designers.

    Eldis Gateway to Citizenship

    http://www.eldis.org/index.cfm?objectid=235421A6-F9D0-7429-7EDF13F435950223&qt=Citizenship&search_type=

    Global Dimension

    http://www.globaldimension.org.uk/

    The global dimension explores our connections with the rest of the world. With a global dimension to their education, learners can engage with complex global issues and explore the links between their own lives and people, places and issues throughout the world.

    Intute: Social Sciences: Citizenship

    http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/cgi-bin/search.pl?term1=citizenship

    type citizenship into the search box.
• • Select list of Community Development resources:
    BRIDGE

    http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/

    Siyanda is a searchable database of gender and development materials from across the world

    Directgov

    http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm

    public services all in one place

    Eldis Gateway to Community Development

    http://www.eldis.org/index.cfm?objectid=235421A6-F9D0-7429-7EDF13F435950223&qt=community+development&search_type=

    Informal Education (infed)

    http://www.infed.org/

    established in 1995 to provide a space for people to explore the theory and practice of informal education and social action learning.

    Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)

    http://www.ippr.org/publication/2

    publications. Website being relaunched.

    Intute: Social Sciences: Community development

    http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/cgi-bin/search.pl?term1=community+development&limit=0&subject=socialsciences

    type community development into the search box

    The knowledgebase

    http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/index.php?id=8

    is designed to help community and voluntary sector organisations access the benefits of information technology. The knowledgebase is a comprehensive source of independent ICT information and advice.

    NVCO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)

    http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/

    Neighbourhood Statistics

    http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/

    This site provides access to statistics relating to a wide range of subjects including population, crime, health and housing.

    NGO Café

    http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/

    OneWorld Guides

    http://www.oneworld.net/guides

    The Guides form the educational component of oneworld.net, the development portal with a global reputation stretching back over 10 years. They provide an introduction to relevant issues in over 70 developing countries and for 20 cross-cutting development topics, with particular focus on the Millennium Development Goals.

    Social Watch

    http://www.socialwatch.org/

    Urban Forum Online

    http://www.urbanforum.org.uk/

    Urban Forum is an umbrella body for community and voluntary groups with interest in urban and regional policy, especially regeneration
• • Select list of Housing resources:
    Better Housing

    http://www.better-housing.org.uk/

    Better Housing is designed to help frontline practitioners implement evidence-based practice in their workplace. The Race Equality Foundation’s rapidly expanding collection of free-to-view briefing papers, resources and weblinks will help staff embed the promotion of race equality in their everyday work, providing information and good practice examples to tackle discrimination and overcome inequality.

    Chartered Institute of Housing

    http://www.cih.org/

    Practice hub (briefs and alerts)

    http://www.practicehub.cih.co.uk/

    Citizens Advice

    http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

    Homeless Pages

    http://www.homelesspages.org.uk/

    Provides information of use to homeless people, professionals that work to help them and other interested people. Information about who becomes homeless and why, statistics about homelessness in the UK, and a glossary of terms are available.

    Housingnet.co.uk

    http://www.housingnet.co.uk/

    Contains a social housing database, information and topical debate, an online maintanance manual and links to social housing Internet resources.
• • Select list of Youth Studies resources:
    Council of Europe Youth Forum

    http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Resources/Forum_21/forum_en.asp

    Department of Education: Children and young people

    http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople

    Eldis Gateway to Youth Participation

    http://www.eldis.org/index.cfm?objectid=235421A6-F9D0-7429-7EDF13F435950223&qt=Youth+participation&search_type=

    Youth Policies in the UK: A chronological map

    http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/so/youthchron/index.htm

    is hosted by the School of Social Relations at the University of Keele. It provides a retrospective guide to UK youth policies and legislation from the late nineteenth century onwards.